Frederick Elementary friends say goodbye to closing school

As one school closes, another to open

By Scott RochatLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
05/16/2013 09:25:11 PM MDT

Updated:
05/17/2013 04:35:37 PM MDT

Retired library media technician Phyllis Schneckloth, right, talks with long-time Frederick resident and former teacher Carmine DeSantis, left, during a celebration Thursday to close Frederick Elementary School and open Thunder Valley K8 school in Frederick. DeSantis has been in Frederick since 1943 and was a high school industrial arts teacher at the Frederick School, a K-12 school, in 1956. Schneckloth worked at Frederick Elementary School from 1987-2002.
(Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)

FREDERICK -- When Romi Cardenas first came to Frederick Elementary School, the older kids warned her: watch out for the wrong kind of school spirit.

"They said you can hear screaming in the old gym, which is a total lie," said Romi, now 11 and in fifth grade. "But they used to freak me out with all those ghost stories."

Now the stories -- though hopefully not the ghosts -- are going to be moving down the road a bit. On Thursday evening, Frederick Elementary's families, friends, students and staff gathered to say goodbye to the school, which will be replaced by Thunder Valley K-8 next year.

Thunder Valley, as it happens, is within walking distance, built inside the old Frederick High School. But a short move still leaves memories.

Fourth grader Ashley Congdon plays the flute during a band performance at a celebration to close Frederick Elementary School and open Thunder Valley K8 school on Thursday.
(Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)

"It's an exciting time, certainly," said principal Karen Musick, who will remain principal at the new school. "But it's bittersweet."

Frederick Elementary opened in 1977, a replacement for an older school that went back to the 1950s. (The "haunted" gym, incidentally, is even older, built for the now-gone Frederick School in 1936.) Like many grade schools of the '70s, it was built to an "open" plan, without walls separating the classrooms -- and like many of those grade schools, it later re-walled the rooms when the design proved less than ideal for concentration.

That helped everyone's focus, Musick said. But it also cut down on the natural light. That made a difference during her first power outage.

"We had to bring the kids in to where the skylights were," she said. "I learned to make sure I had a flashlight in the office."

The redesigned school also made for some interesting routes, fourth-grade teacher Dana Vanderhoeven said.

"In order to get to the art room, you have to cut through either my classroom or my teaching partner's classroom," she said. "So I'm looking forward to not having that."

Fifth grader Jose Nova, 10, left, checks out a time capsule from 1977 with Demetrie Lauver, 4, during a celebration to close Frederick Elementary School and open Thunder Valley K8 school on Thursday. (Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)

A liberated time capsule on display gave an idea of just how much time had passed. According to the information inside, the minimum pay for a Frederick Elementary teacher in 1977 was $9,200; one with a doctorate could max out at $20,700.

"It was a fun time," said former librarian Liberta Hattel, who worked for the school and its predecessor from 1970 to 1986. "It was like a family, it was really nice."

It was also, she admitted, a little easy to get lost.

"When we came here (in 1977), we had to always go in through the same door," Hattel said. "Otherwise, we couldn't find our way!"

First-grader Katrina Brazitis, 7, had some doubts about moving to a kindergarten through eighth grade school. Frederick Elementary was K-5.

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